PLANK TOLL ROAD

Inscription

PLANK TOLL ROAD
OPENED 1846. EXTENDED FROM
SYRACUSE TO CENTRAL SQUARE.
LAST TOLL COLLECTED 1913.
KNOWN AS OLD SALT ROAD.
LATER BECAME NY STATE RTE 11.
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2020

Built around 1846, the Plank Toll Road, aka Old Salt Road, extended north from the community of Central Square south to the City of Syracuse. The completion of this new roadway was met with a great deal of excitement from the community. An August 12, 1846 newspaper article from the Syracuse Daily Star, describes the opening of the new road:

The celebration, yesterday, at Brewerton, of the completion of the Salina and Central Square Plank Road was a very pleasant and creditable affair. The day was all that could be desired; and the company, assembled at one of the most beautiful spots in the State, seemed fully to appreciate the interest of the occasion, to the people of this village. At half past nine o clock, a procession was formed at Salina, composed of the Board of Directors and the Officers, and citizens of this village and county, accompanied by a fair complement of ladies, and proceeded to Brewerton, over what we do not hesitate to pronounce the finest road in the state of New York.

Comprised of arranged wooden planks commonly referred to as a corduroy road, Plank Toll Road was considered to be cutting edge in its day. The road not only offered travelers a smooth and even path, it also helped aid area farmers bring their produce to market, even in inclement weather. The Plank Toll Road was used for many years until collecting its last toll in 1913. It later became New York State Route 11. While the wooden planks have long been replaced by asphalt, NYS Route 11 remains as a legacy of its predecessor, the old Plank Toll Road.